Live Blog: Taking Your Smartphone Video to the Next Level

Live Session enthusiastically brought to you by @RunningJoeInJax. I’m not a blogger, but I might as well be by the amount I post on Daily Mile – Jax Joe. Go Gator Bait!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million! You don’t want to skip over this discussion led by master video journalist,Andre Smith. Dre is sharing some of his professional tips and tricks to produce the most effective video using just your smartphone.

Question – Can you edit in stills using b-roll or does it have to be video. Answer – I have found iMovie will not allow adding stills without making a video of them. Make a project of your stills, then integrate with the main project. You can also use iPhoto which integrates well with iMovie.

Tip #5 – Content is King. You can have great quality. If the content is “doo doo” (Dre’s expression)… Make sure you have something to offer your audience. Content rules over everything. Ad hoc video of something interesting will go viral regardless of quality. You can say something in the dark. If it’s worthwhile, it doesn’t matter.

Tip #4 – Rock the mic! Quality sound is important. How many times do you hear Charlie Brown’s freakin’ teacher on video? Onboard microphone sucks. You can use a headset with a mic built in. That mic is not bad. Problem is you look like a fool. If you use it, prop the mic out.

If you want to make the investment, get a second light. Investment might be $80 with stands. You need stands. Lights won’t float. Main point is you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to get quality video from your smartphone.

Question – Is there a way to control the still picture when you post a video?. Answer – Do a screen grab of your video in full HD mode and upload that to YouTube. Wait 5 minutes. Then share on social media.

Tip #3 – Pay attention to your backgrounds. They can make or break your video. Make sure your camera does not focus on the background. Plain walls are not great. If you’re talking to your readers, position yourself in the center. Give yourself some headroom. Don’t chop your head off. Kootek provides a wireless/bluetooth switch that allows you to start/stop your video remotely.

Tip #2 – Hold steady. Use a tripod for your main discussion clip. You’re after high quality video. Shaky video can be really annoying. On Amazon, there are many smartphone clips that will attach to your tripod.